Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party

The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia, founded in 1951 and legalized in 1955. The party was founded by nationalist Sunni Muslim clerics loyal to the United Malays National Organization, and it advocated both Malay nationalism and the creation of an Islamic democracy ruled by sharia law. The party found its support base in the rural and conservative north, and it held 2/70 Senate seats, 14/222 House of Representatives seats, and 78/587 State Legislative Assemblies seats in 2017.